Nemanja Bjelica

[LesGrossman]

Just checking the stats, Bennett has shot 36 percent in February with less than 4 points and 4 rebounds per game.

Did you see the games? Shooting percentage aside, you need to put those numbers in relation to the minutes played. I trust my eyes more than the numbers (see Love, see Rubio to understand why these simple stats mean little or nothing). If you watched the games and didnt see any improvement, then we'll just have to disagree on this.

[Worm Guts]

Just checking the stats, Bennett has shot 36 percent in February with less than 4 points and 4 rebounds per game.

Did you see the games? Shooting percentage aside, you need to put those numbers in relation to the minutes played. I trust my eyes more than the numbers (see Love, see Rubio to understand why these simple stats mean little or nothing). If you watched the games and didnt see any improvement, then we'll just have to disagree on this.

Improvement over what we had seen is a pretty low bar. He seemed like he was playing harder, but I wouldn't say he was making a positive impact. He hasn't done anything to change my mind.

[C.lupus]

What Bennett has shown so far in his NBA career is inconsistent effort. He needs to put together a long run of high effort/energy and improved court awareness. He's had a good string of games in the past and then disappeared for weeks at a time. I've said this before but his salary is the problem. If he was making Dieng-type money, I'd be happy to keep him but it's just really difficult to justify keeping him at $6-7 million for what he produces on the court.

[Feilong]

Can we forget bad players like Bennett and Bjelica and start focus on players who can actually help us?

[Merc_Porto]

Can we forget bad players like Bennett and Bjelica and start focus on players who can actually help us?

Benett is not a bad player.
He is good, i remember that 1st month of him, he was amazing.

So, we know what he is capable of doing. But i guess we have different opinions on this

[Mattya]

Can we forget bad players like Bennett and Bjelica and start focus on players who can actually help us?

Benett is not a bad player.
He is good, i remember that 1st month of him, he was amazing.

So, we know what he is capable of doing. But i guess we have different opinions on this

What did was he capable of doing? He shot the ball really well but not much else. Over longer stretches we have seen really bad BBIQ, really bad turnovers, with very poor shooting. That can't be ignored just because of one small fraction when he shot well. Hopefully with more playing time he will increase his BBIQ and show more consistent effort. Those are my biggest worries.

[Feilong]

Can we forget bad players like Bennett and Bjelica and start focus on players who can actually help us?

Benett is not a bad player.
He is good, i remember that 1st month of him, he was amazing.

So, we know what he is capable of doing. But i guess we have different opinions on this

Amazing? Call it 3-4 games that he was decent.
You can pay someone 7.3M because he had in 2 years 3-4 decent games, but this is not how you build a successful team.

So yes we have different opinions on this

[Merc_Porto]

^
So unfair.
But why Bjelica is also a bad player ?

[Feilong]

^
So unfair.
But why Bjelica is also a bad player ?

It's like a Math equation.

Mirotic was an absolute star in Europe.
Bjelica is 2 levels worse than Mirotic
Mirotic is mediocre in NBA, just a rotation guy.
Bjelica will be in NBA what (?)

[Merc_Porto]

^
So unfair.
But why Bjelica is also a bad player ?

It's like a Math equation.

Mirotic was an absolute star in Europe.
Bjelica is 2 levels worse than Mirotic
Mirotic is mediocre in NBA, just a rotation guy.
Bjelica will be in NBA what (?)

WTH ? Really ?
Mirotic is mediocre in NBA ? Just a rotation guy ?

Ok.

[minimus]

^
So unfair.
But why Bjelica is also a bad player ?

It's like a Math equation.

Mirotic was an absolute star in Europe.
Bjelica is 2 levels worse than Mirotic
Mirotic is mediocre in NBA, just a rotation guy.
Bjelica will be in NBA what (?)

You've messed up something. Bjelica is Top-5 star in Europe. Special talent. We need a guy who can fill PF spot for ~MLE contract. I think Bjelica fits this role well. Mirotic has played very well so far, but Bulls have many options in frontcourt and Thibs doesn't play rookies too much, but Mirotic is exception.

[packforfreedom]

Bennett is aweful. he bad at almost everything. He takes a lot of bad shots, he doesn't make good shots. He's a sets bad screens, he's to late in transition, he misses his rotations, he doesn't have a single post move, he lacks a motor and motivation and there're concerns with his health. I'd take Kwame Brown and Darko Milicic over him seven days a week and I'd surprised if he ever becomes a solid 8th guy. KG can kick his ass in practice and yell at him in timeouts, but he can't create talent out of nothing.

I'm not really convinced, that a 27 year old euro guy will be our PF of the future either. From what I saw of him, I'm not exatcly overwhelmed by his skill-set.

this year's FA has a lot of good options at PF and Flip should at least try to land one of them.

[Feilong]

Europeans are slower and less athletic than American players.
"White men can't jump" is true. At-least 99%
For a European player to succeed in NBA he must have special skills. Like Dirk, Gasol, Ricky, Stojakovic, Petrovic etc.
It's really rare for a EU PF to become successful in NBA.
Dirk is a 7 feet SG/PF with an unblockable release.
Pau is a 7'1 PF with high agility and BBIQ.
Bjelica is a very good EU player that doesn't have anything special to differentiate him so he can become successful in the NBA.
We have one disappointment in Bennett. Bjelica will be another one.
Towns has such skills that you can invest in him. Bjelica doesn't have.

[ace625214]

This is a bit off topic, but reading the exchange above made me think of something. Why are there so many European Wolves fans? Is it just the Ricky/Pek/AK thing or is there something about Minnesota that draws all you Euros in? Are all the team boards like this and I just don't know?

[Merc_Porto]

Feilong
Nobody said it he is going to be a star.
I think almost everyone spoke of him as a good back up.

And btw Benett is a disappointment for you.
He has had very bad luck (that count for something too)
Don´t speak for everybody on this topic.

But who says Mirotic is a mediocre player in NBA. Or that Dieng is a 3º Center in a championship team.
Can say everything right

[JimBreuer45]

Feilong speaks for me. AB is not good. He's not interested in anything but taking 19ft jumpers. He doesn't want to defend, rebound and treats the painted area like it's engulfed in flames. Oh, he dunks nice sometimes.

Just like Thad, I'd give AB (and Budd) away for free. No one would take them though.

[Merc_Porto]

Feilong speaks for me. AB is not good. He's not interested in anything but taking 19ft jumpers. He doesn't want to defend, rebound and treats the painted area like it's engulfed in flames. Oh, he dunks nice sometimes.

Just like Thad, I'd give AB (and Budd) away for free. No one would take them though.

My point is, he doesn't speak for me. I know that almost everybody here doesn't want Bennett anymore.

[Killboard]

We already picked up Bennett's option for next year (had to do that this past October). I think there's a good chance he gets traded in the offseason, though.

Yes, i knew, I try to say what Flip is thinking about the 2016-2017 option. If he is willing to excersise his option for the 4th year, making him a long term commit. Can we trade AB before to exercise his 2016-2017 option?

[LesGrossman]

Guys are too impatient. Bennett is a baby and he isnt ready by far. Just because you got used to the likes of Ricky (who played professionally for ages now) and Wiggins who is simply an exceptional talent even for a #1 pick does not mean everyone else is a bust if they arent exactly an allstar out of the box. Successful franchises prove that patience pays off. Look at the spurs and how they keep developing generation after generation, each of which you'd send in the desert judging on their early performance and your reactions here to Bennett. Look at Tiago Splitters first years after coming over from euroleague, and look at the role he plays now. Have patience. I know the wolves starve for success but that cant come if you throw your talent overboard as in the past years if they dont deliver right away.

And europeans are slower, is that so. Genetically? Or do you refer to WHITE europeans? Quite the racist statement, really. Giannis is european too, btw. Just as much as LeBron is american and Wiggins is Canadian. Tony Parker is european, Ricky is european. Dennis Schröder is european. All slow?Or maybe its because the european leagues actually enforce their drug policy, while the NBA players are even amnestied at the world cup and olympics.

Now, does athleticism mean that much really? What if Bjelica cant jump out of the block? Can Boris Diaw? Can Luis Scola? Can Zach Randolph? Kids, this is not a video game or And1 Mixtape. An old unathletic spurs team beat and dominated leBron and his heat beyond any doubt. Patience, player development, trust, and most of all, good coaching.

[Devilzsidewalk]

^
So unfair.
But why Bjelica is also a bad player ?

It's like a Math equation.

Mirotic was an absolute star in Europe.
Bjelica is 2 levels worse than Mirotic
Mirotic is mediocre in NBA, just a rotation guy.
Bjelica will be in NBA what (?)

WTH ? Really ?
Mirotic is mediocre in NBA ? Just a rotation guy ?

Ok.

I've only seen him in maybe 2 or 3 games, but by the #s it seems more than fair assessment to me. He's a jump shooting big man shooting .395.